Microsoft and Capco Join Forces to Transform Financial Services Industry With First Solution for Global Straight Through Processing Communications Using Microsoft .NET

NEW YORK, June 19, 2002 — Today at the Securities Industry Association’s Technology Management Conference and Exhibit, Microsoft Corp. and Capco, the global services and technology solutions provider focused exclusively on the financial services industry, announced an alliance designed to transform the way financial institutions communicate. Together, the two companies are unveiling the first comprehensive solution for straight through processing (STP) to the global capital markets sector. STP is the seamless linkage between the entire spectrum of financial information, from basic analytics to clearing of trades, without the barriers or risks that are currently created by legacy, proprietary and paper-based systems.

“We’re delighted to be working with Capco because of its expertise and reputation within the financial services industry. Capco’s new STP Bridge solution is a terrific example of how the Microsoft® .NET approach to XML Web services can literally transform the way an industry serves its customers, providing businesses with the agility to respond to their rapidly changing business landscape,”
said Bill Hartnett, general manager of financial services at Microsoft.
“Through the integration and transformation features found within BizTalk® Server, the new STP Bridge achieves the best of both worlds when it comes to standardization and customization. It creates a common platform for processing transactions, but provides companies with the ability to customize a solution based on specific requirements, capabilities and customer needs.”

“Microsoft and Capco are the leading companies thinking holistically about the market infrastructure and market participant sides of the industry, with the goal of commoditizing connectivity and making it affordable for everyone,”
said Predrag Dizdarevic, executive vice president and head of Capco Solutions, a division of Capco.
“STP Bridge is the only STP solution that fully leverages .NET to allow all internal systems and external services to communicate with each other. STP Bridge provides seamless collaboration in real time between market players and emerging transaction-matching utilities, and gives users a richer experience.”

Straight through processing is achieved when financial transactions are successfully integrated both internally and externally. Such integration lowers the time it takes to actually process a transaction. This reduces risk and costs, because errors are caught sooner, increasing efficiency and therefore driving up ROI. For the customer, STP links all areas of the investment chain including asset managers, broker/dealers, custodians, exchanges and even private investors, to maximize the user experience. TowerGroup recently found that financial institutions will spend $19 billion (U.S.) over the next few years on STP solutions.

“Connectivity is the lifeblood of the securities industry,”
said Larry Tabb, vice president of the Securities and Investments Practice at TowerGroup.
“Investment managers, brokers, exchanges, custodians and depositories all need to communicate seamlessly. For years, the communications infrastructure supporting this connectivity has been highly fragmented, inefficient and costly. The new Microsoft and Capco venture will focus on streamlining this connectivity and making it possible for any market participant of any size to access multiple utilities from a single point of contact. The end result will be improved STP at an affordable price point.”

STP Bridge, using BizTalk Server, is an off-the-shelf solution that enables all messaging protocols used in capital markets straight through processing to seamlessly communicate regardless of platform. The inherent ease of use and flexibility of BizTalk Server allows STP Bridge to be easily customized for the unique and demanding needs of the securities industry. For example, its flexibility makes it easy to add new services and applications and connect and integrate with partners, competitors and multiple utilities simultaneously, including transaction matching, application services provider and business services provider utilities. As a result, customers can access multiple services from a single point of contact. Building on the capabilities of .NET, STP Bridge quickly connects all business solutions, providing one degree of separation between the customer and any financial institution.

About Capco

Founded in 1998, Capco ( http://www.capco.com/ ) is the first services and technology solutions provider exclusively focused on forming the future of the financial services industry. Capco dramatically improves clients’ financial and operational performance, risk profile and return on IT investments by seamlessly integrating business strategy and process with technology implementation.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft and BizTalk are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Capco is a registered trademark of The Capital Markets Company NV.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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